By Courtney Bohl, Chris DeGroff, and Reema Kapur

The employment and employment rights of our Veterans and Military servicemembers has always been an important topic and one already protected by such laws as the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”), the Family and Medical Leave Act (which allows for “qualifying exigency leave” for families of military personnel) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), which protects servicemembers against discrimination on the basis of any disability whether arising from military service or not.  On July 11, 2013, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) introduced the Veterans and Servicemembers Employment Rights and Housing Act of 2013.  The bill seeks to prohibit discrimination against veterans and servicemembers seeking employment or housing opportunities.  If adopted, the bill would amend the Fair Housing Act to include military service as a protected category and allow veterans and servicemembers facing discrimination to file their complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  Representative Kilmer previously sponsored a similar law.  Seyfarth’s Workplace Class Action blog has provided an overview of this proposed legislation, it’s key provisions, and the impact it might have on the workplace if enacted.  Please click here to see that complete post.